A school was born in a forest. Yours can be born from Ayni.
The Ayni Network brings the educational culture we have practiced since 2015 in Guaporé, in the mountains of southern Brazil, to early-childhood and primary schools anywhere. For schools about to be born, and for schools that want to be reborn.
A school does not have to be an assembly line.
Looking at what reaches Ayni from schools, families and educators, the same picture repeats itself. We name the problem because it is the problem the Network exists to solve.
Do the ends justify the means?
If the purpose of school is to prepare for entrance exams and the job market, the assembly line is justified, and with it come competition, the segmentation of time, the ignored body and the pruning of everything that doesn’t serve that end. If the purpose is to give people the autonomy to write their own story, the means are different.
The Ayni culture is built from that other end: a learning process that cares for the adults, the children and the space, all at once.
- Educators as partners, not operatorsPresent with pedagogical intention, offering learning opportunities aligned with the national curriculum, without having to drag everyone to the same point on the same day.
- Children who know themselvesTheir own body and its needs, their own desires, life in the group, autonomy and self-responsibility.
- Inclusion without a dedicated aideSince no one has to learn the same thing at the same time, difference fits. A neurodivergent child, or a child with a disability, has a characteristic, and it is the environment that adjusts to it, not the other way around.
“Teacher burnout, children being diagnosed, difficulty with inclusion. We really do solve these problems, with the culture and the methodology we practice every day.”
Educator at Cidade Escola Ayni
Before a method, a way of living.
We don’t sell an activity kit. We pass on a culture: adults in a state of presence, creating spaces of safety and trust so that children can be who they are.
“We invite the adults to look at themselves. The children, we leave in peace.”
Founding principle of Cidade Escola Ayni
- No steeringProposals arise from the child’s genuine interest, not from an imposed plan.
- Spaces that educateRooms without desks, mixed-age environments, nature and real materials as invitations to discovery.
- Natural timeNo recess, no bell: time is organised around the children’s needs.
- Relationships of trustNo value judgements, with freedom of movement based on shared agreements.
- Evidence, not testsFormative assessment based on evidence of learning, aligned with the official curriculum.
A culture with working tools.
What your team takes into daily life is not a speech. It is a system, described in Ayni’s Pedagogical Project and aligned with Brazil’s national curriculum (BNCC).
Two paths into the Network.
Every school starts from a different place. The destination is the same: a trained team, a prepared space and a living culture in everyday life.
Seed for those opening a new school
From the dream to the first day of class. We accompany the design of the project, the space, the team and the economic viability, so the school is born inside the culture.
- Project design: pedagogical project, economic model and roadmap for accreditation with the education authorities
- Space and team: consulting on environments that educate, and support in selecting and training the founding team
- 5-day immersion at Ayni for 2 leaders (includes accommodation at Hotel Ayni, in a shared twin room; travel to Guaporé not included)
- Team training: 40 hybrid hours
- 1 on-site visit by a member of the Ayni team, for the team training (travel and accommodation not included)
- Fortnightly mentoring with the Ayni team for 6 months (2-hour online meetings)
- Family programme: how to build a school community
Root for schools that already exist and want to change
A careful transformation, in cycles, without breaking what the school has already built. It starts with the adults and reaches the children, the spaces and the families.
- Diagnosis of the current culture and a 12-month implementation plan
- 5-day immersion at Ayni for 2 leaders (includes accommodation at Hotel Ayni, in a shared twin room; travel to Guaporé not included)
- Team training: 40 hybrid hours
- 2 on-site visits by a member of the Ayni team: one for the culture diagnosis and one for the team training (travel and accommodation not included)
- Fortnightly mentoring with the Ayni team for 6 months (2-hour online meetings)
- Family programme: how to build a school community
For schools that want to start small: 40 hours of hybrid training for the teaching staff, with an on-site visit by a member of the Ayni team. Fully credited if the school joins a path within 12 months.
* Travel expenses of the Ayni team for on-site visits (flights, accommodation and meals) are not included and are billed separately, at cost. The immersion in Guaporé is included in the programme; each school organises its own team’s journey to Brazil, and we are glad to help with the planning.
A school’s journey into the Network.
No school joins the Network without first living Ayni. The immersion is part of the route, and what you invest in it is credited towards onboarding.
- First conversation
45 minutes with our team to understand your school, your moment and your intention.
- Immersion at Ayni
5 days living the culture in the forest, in Guaporé. For leadership and coordination.
- Proposal
Tailored diagnosis and plan: path, timeline, team and investment.
- Onboarding
12 months of implementation: training, visits, fortnightly mentoring.
- Living culture
The school runs with the culture in daily life. Families, spaces and team aligned.
- Certification
Recognition visit and the Ayni Network School seal.
- Network
Annual membership with community, mentoring, immersions and ongoing updates.
What your school receives.
An intense beginning and a long-term relationship. That is how a culture is sustained.
Onboarding
During the first 12 months · one-time investment
- School diagnosis and implementation plan
- 5-day immersion at Ayni for 2 leaders (includes accommodation at Hotel Ayni, in a shared twin room; travel to Guaporé not included)
- Teaching-staff training: 40 hybrid hours
- On-site visits by a member of the Ayni team: 2 on the Root path, 1 on the Seed path
- Fortnightly mentoring with the Ayni team for 6 months (2-hour online meetings)
- Family programme: how to build a school community
- Access to the course platform and the AI mentor from day one
Ayni Network
From certification onwards · annual membership
- Ayni Network School seal and use of the brand
- Community of schools with a monthly meeting (2-hour online meeting)
- Monthly mentoring of leaders with the Ayni team (2-hour online meetings)
- One 2-day on-site immersion per year at Ayni for every educator (travel and accommodation not included)
- All of Ayni’s online courses, with every update
- Ayni’s AI mentor for the team, 24 hours a day
- 30% discount on the Ayni postgraduate programme
- Annual follow-up visit and seal renewal
Investment in the Network.
A fixed amount per enrolled child. Easy to predict, no revenue audits, and proportional to the size of the school. Values in US dollars.
| School | Monthly fee* | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| up to 60 children | US$ 740 | everything in the Network, up to 8 educators in immersions |
| 61 to 150 children | US$ 12 per child | everything in the Network, up to 15 educators in immersions |
| over 150 | US$ 10 per child | everything in the Network, unlimited immersions |
| Public school networks | on request | per-school model, through a partnership with the municipality |
* Annual contract, billed monthly, in US dollars. Travel and accommodation for the on-site visits of the Ayni team are not included. Schools with more than one campus receive a tailored proposal. Travel and accommodation for the educators’ annual immersions at Ayni are not included either.
Monthly fee
per month, in the Ayni NetworkPer child, that is US$ 12 a month. Less than a textbook subscription.
Ayni is a Quechua word. It means reciprocity.
Your school can be private, public or community-run, for-profit or not. Ayni is not: it is a civil-society organisation, and the mother school in the forest charges families no tuition.
Just as our hotel in the Serra Gaúcha exists so that the school can exist, everything the Network receives goes back to keeping the original Ayni free, training the team and caring for the Network itself. We publish where every resource goes, every quarter, on our Transparency Portal.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a franchise?
No. Your school remains yours, with its name, its management and its identity. What we license is the culture, the training and the accompaniment. The Ayni Network School seal is a recognition, not a mandatory banner.
Does my school need to be free or non-profit?
No. Free tuition is a feature of the mother school, maintained by the Ayni association. Network schools define their own economic model.
Is the Ayni culture compatible with the official curriculum?
Yes. Ayni itself is an accredited early-childhood school, with primary education being implemented. We honour the curriculum structure and work on lighter ways for children to reach the learning objectives. For schools outside Brazil, we map the culture onto your local curriculum together.
Do I need a forest?
No. What makes an Ayni school is the adults and the relationships, not the land. Many practices fit in any building. On the Seed path we help you think about the space from the start.
What about inclusion? Will we need dedicated aides?
In the Ayni culture, inclusion does not depend on aides. Since no one has to learn the same thing at the same time, difference fits into everyday life: the environment adjusts to each child’s characteristics, not the child to the environment. It is one of the points where Network schools feel the most relief, including in the relationship between families of atypical and typical children.
What if my team resists the change?
Resistance is expected and is part of the work. That is why the path starts with the adults, in cycles, with fortnightly mentoring. We don’t ask a school to become another one overnight.
Does it work for primary education? From when?
The Network follows the pace of the mother school: we only take to other schools what we already live in the forest. In 2026, the Network welcomes early-childhood schools. In 2027, with Ayni’s primary programme running, it also welcomes primary schools up to the 3rd grade. In 2028, up to the 5th grade. It is a matter of coherence: we don’t train anyone in something we don’t yet practise.
Can municipalities and public networks take part?
They can, and it is one of our institutional goals: an entire municipal network adopting these practices as public policy. For public networks we build a per-school model within a partnership with the municipality.
We are outside Brazil. Does the Network work for us?
Yes. Training and mentoring can happen in English or Spanish, and the immersion in Guaporé is the same for everyone. Values are quoted in US dollars; travel for on-site visits is billed at cost.
Tell us about your project.
Tell us about your school, the one that exists or the one you dream of. We read every answer and reply within two working days to schedule the 45-minute first conversation.
Prefer to talk directly? Message our team on WhatsApp. But the form helps us arrive at the conversation already knowing your school.
Your data goes to rede@ayni.org.br and stays with the Ayni team only.
If a school like this exists, maybe yours can too.
For 11 years Ayni has cultivated another possibility for education. The Network exists so that it can reach more children, in more places.
Cidade Escola Ayni · Guaporé, Brazil
A school to inspire.